Trim fastener



. Jan. Z, 1940. Y MARSHALL 2,185,816

`TRIM FASTENE'R Filed Nov. e, 1937 I 2 sngets-sheet 1 [N VENTOR Wam-m; mdffdzz BY Ja@ 2f, E940@ w. MARSHALL,

TRIM FASTENER Filed Nov. 8. 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 2, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Briggs Manufacturing Company, Detroit,

Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application November 8, 1937, Serial No. 173,34

is claims.

This invention relates to trim panels or trim panel assemblies particularly adapted for use in the interior trim finish of automobiles or other vehicle bodies and especially to fastener devices g for trim panels.'

An object ofthe invention is to provide a trim panel for a vehicle body with improved fastener means for removably attaching the panel to the vehicle door or other portion of the body fram- 10 ing with ease and facility.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved interior trim panel; or trim panel assembly, together with a new and improved fastener device fordetachably securing lli the panel to the body so that by virtue of the invention there is provided a fastener device of relatively simple construction which may be manufactured at low cost and assembled on the panel witha minimumv of time and labor and 20 -enabling the provision of a trim panel which may be easily applied to the door or other framing of the vehicle body.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved fastener device for a trim panel which u may be cheaply and easily manufactured from a single piece or strip of metal and which may be assembled on the trim panel either before or after the application thereto of the trim material or fabric. v

so Another object of the invention is to provide an improved. trim panel including a sheet metal backing or foundation sheet having socket means formed therein for receiving and releasably supporting fastener devices which may be snapped 85 into place in the sockets and maintained in position upon the sheet against accidental displacement.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following de 0 scription and appended claims, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away. illustrating an automobile door having mounted therein a trim panel embodying the present inw vention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, showing one form of fastener device embodying the invention and a fragment of the panel to which it is adapted to be attached.

i.' Fig. 3 is an emerged section taken substantially along the line 3--3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section taken substantially along the line i-l of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a modi- 5 fled form of trim fastener embodying the invention.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view through the fastener of Fig. 5 and showing its application to a trim panel and support.

Fig. 7 is a. section taken substantially along the line 1--1 of Fig. 6, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 2 and showing a further modified form of fastener device and fragment of the panel to which it is applied.`

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary top plan view illustrating the application of the fastener of Fig. 8 to a panel and support; and

Fig. 10 is a section taken substantially along the line lli-I of Fig. 9, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it yis to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, and it is not intended to limit the invention claimed herei beyond the requirements of the prior art.

Referring now toFig. 1 of the drawings, there is illustratedtherein, by way of example, a door A 'of an automobile body having mounted thereon, through the medium of fastener devices C, a trim panel B, the panel and fasteners being constructed in accordance with the present invention. It will be understood that the trim panels may be of different shapes and sizes and may be mounted at vother localities on the inside of the body.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1 to 4 inelusive, I have shown the trim panel B as comprising a backing or foundation sheet I formed of .any suitable stiff material, such, for example, as metal. The panel includes also a sheet or covering of trim material orfabric il which is applied in conventional manner to the outer or exposed face of the panel. As seen in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the panel has formed therethrough an opening or aperture l1 which, as shown, merelyA by way of example, is of rectangular shape, and

i; preferably formed hy slitung the metal at spaced points after which it is struck up or pressed from the sheet to provide an odset strip or bridge strap portion it which spans the opening. It will he noted, see Eig. 3, that the strip or strap portion i@ is slightly narrower than the opening il. Since the strip is is offset above the plane of the sheet in a slot or space is provided beneath it and between the strip and the adjacent face of the panel or sheet.

In accordance with the present embodiment of the invention the fastener device C has s relatively dat hase which comprises an embossed portion i@ having opstanding spaced 'abutments or shoulders dit. The shoulders are extended outwmdly to provide at one side of the embossment a flange 2i having an upwardly and 'out- 'v At the opposite side :inserting the gripping finger and spring flanges i wardly narod lead end 22. of the embossment a ange 2tis provided and the metal is extended beyond the flange to provide a spring gripping portion including an invertsd substantially wshaped how 2d, a dat portion iid and an 'upturned or flared lead portion Normally the emhossed portion i@ of' the hase and the flat portion dit, together with theI anges 2i and 225 entend in substantially par-' The fastener C is applied tothe a somewhat further modinod form of the invenailei planes. foundation sheet by inserting the lead end 22 and danse 2i into one of the slots provided. between the bridge piece i@ and the opening il and the fastener slid or snapped into place beheath the bridge piece until the embossed portion i@ thereof underlies said piece and the fastener is held in place by the engagement of the ahutroents or shoulders il@ with the side edges of the strip it, see particularly Fig. 3. When the fastener is applied to the panel it lies sub .Stantially fiat thereupon on the inner face thereof. It will be understood that the trim fabric l@ may be applied to the foundation sheet either 'prior to the application of the fastener thereto or after the fastener has been attached to the'- foundation sheet. By providing the fastener with the lead portion 2, it will be understood that it can be applied to the foundation sheet without disrupting the previously'attachedtrim fabric lo. Any number of fasteners C may he applied to the foundation sheet adjacent two r more of its marginal edges so that the panel can be removably attached to the door A. -As seen in Figs. 1, 3 and a, the spring gripping portions 265, 2o, 2d of the fastener engage the inner face of the door ange lo and hold the securely in place upon the door.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 5, 6 and 'l of the drawings, l have shown a. somewhat modied form of fastener embodying the present invention.. In this form the fastener D comprises a relatively at base or body portion 3i! having a shoulder or abutment vil at one end and extended to form a ange difprovided with an upwardly and outwardly flared end or lead portion 323. portion i3@ is extended or turned up at right angles to provide a central prong or gripping linger 3G having diametrically opposed forwardly bent spring anges SES which are secured to the 'body of the gripping member 35 adjacent the free end thereof but which are separated therefrom throughout the remainder of their height by slits dit to permit expansion and contraction thereof. The flange members 85 are, as shown, wedge-litre in formation, diver-ging outwardly from the entering end thereof to the bends 3l and thence extending in converging relation.

arenoso.

sense :timbers teminste At its opposite end the base or body The free ends of tho short of the plane of the base 8B. The fastener D is applied to the foundation sheet IB in a' manner similar to the application ofthefas- .tener device C. The lead portion Stand danse ill. are inserted through .the slots at opposite j sides of. the bridge piece or strap i8 so that.' the base portion 3i! will underlie and engage the bottom face of the strap, with the shoulder 3l ing portion do of the fastener serves also as a.1

.stop or abutment engageable with the adjacent yside or edge ofthe` strap portion Il The fas- 'tener of the present form is adapted to be ap- Y plied to a door flange, such as the flange i8 by 86 and lo .through a hole or opening i8 formed in the flange.- see Fig. 6. It willbe .understood that' any nlunber oi fasteners D may be applied z vided with a corresponding number of apertures it adapted to relve the fasteners to detachahiy secure the' panel upon the support.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 8, 9 and 10,

tion is illustrated. In this form the fastener is shown as s. whole at E and is adapted .to be applied to the metalfoundation sheet 48 oi' o trim panel. As shown'. the foundation sheet is at one end an upstanding abutment or shoulder it? formed from the metal of the moei. At the Opposite end of the opening a port of the metal of the panel is preferably embossed to provide an upstanding socket portion or recess d3.

The fastener E of the present form is provided with a substantially nat' hase portion d@ .having at opposite ends upstanrhng'shouldersor tended outwardly to provide a flange liti which extends in aplane substantially parallel to the plane oi' the base Cit. The abutment UB is notched out at M to provide a tongue or projecting portion 55 extending beyond the abutment and forming a continuation or extension of the base B0, the tongue being substantially in the piane of said base. The metal of the shoulder or abutment d2 is extended outwardly provided with an opening or aperture di having abutments 5i. and t?. The abutment @i is es;`

to the panel and that the door nange is prolto provide a reversely bent spring gripping por I within the opening or aperture 4i with the at one face of the panel All and with the tongue or projection 5B overlapping the panel at the opposite face thereof. When the panel is applied to a supporting surface A. it will be seen that the gripping portion 8l oi' the fastener en ange otthereof overlappingthe abutment 62 gages the inner face of the riange it ci' the support. As the fastener E is pressed into place within the socket or opening di in the foundation sheet the parts are compressed or contracted. After the fastener has been lodged in its proper position, the normal expansion of the parts of the fastener serves to hold it in position against 76 second flange in the general direction of the plane of the base portion.

12. A fastener device for a metal trim panel having an opening formed therein and a metal strip spanning the opening and offset from the plane of the panel, comprising a relatively nat base portion insertable beneath the strip to substantially ll the opening, said base portion having an end flange onset from the base and extending in a plane substantially parallel thereto, a second flange offset from the end of the base opposite to the rst flange and extending in substantially the plane of said iirst flange, and a spring gripping member projecting beyond said second ange in the general direction of the plane of the base portion, said anges providing spaced abutments engageable with the side edges of said metal strip to releasably maintain the fastener device in position pon the panel.

i3. A fastener device for a metal trim panel having an opening and an oiset strap portion formed from the metal thereof, comprising a relatively nat base portion insertable in the opening beneath the strap having an end flange odset from the base and extending in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said base, a. second flange odset from the; opposite end of the base and extending substantially in the Plane of the rst ange, and a bowed spring gripping member extending beyond said second flange, said flanges providing abutments engageable with said strap portion to releasably maintain the fastener in position upon the panel.

14. A fastener device for a metal trim panel having an opening and an offset strap portion n formed from the metal thereof, comprising a r'elatively at base portion insertable in the opening beneath the strap having an end flange oiset from the base and extending in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said base, and a spring fastener member extended from the base at the end opposite to said ange.

15. A fastener device for a metal -trim panel in which said panel is provided with an opening and an odset strap portion narrower than the opening formed from the metal of said panel,

comprising a relatively dat base portion insertable in the opening beneath the strap having an end flange offset from the base and extendlng beyond and in a plane substantially parallel `to the plane of said base, and a spring fastener 16. A fastener device for a. trim panel havingv an opening formed therein and a strap narrower than the opening formed from the material of the panel extending in a plane above and spanning the opening, comprising a relatively :dat base insertable beneath the strap and extending across the opening transversely to the strap and overlappingen edge of said opening at one sideof said strap, and an upstanding spring fastener member having spaced legs extending from one end of the fastener base.

17. A fastener device for a metal trim panel having an opening formed therein and a metal strip spanning the opening and oiset from the plane of the panel, comprising a relatively dat base portion insertable beneath the strip to be Within the opening, said base portion having an end ange odset from the base and extending in a plane substantially parallel thereto and overlapping an edge of the opening, and a spring fastener member extending perpendicularly from the end of the base opposite to said flange.

18. A fastener device for a metal trim panel having an opening and an oilset strap portion formed from the metal thereof, comprising a relatively flat base portion lnsertable in the opening beneath the strap having an end flange ofi'- set from the base and extending in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said base, and a spring fastener member extended from the base at the end opposite to said nange, said fastener member having spring nanges of wedgelike formation.

WILLIAM MARSHALL. 

